Three Weekend Eye-Catchers - 05/08/19

The first big performance from the weekend we want to talk about came on the last day of the Galway festival and in the Chase contest over just under three miles saw a Cheltenham festival legend get of the mark for the first time in two years.

Yorkhill for trainer Willie Mullins is known widely in the national hunt racing scene for being a superb jumps horse winning twice at the Cheltenham festival.

Now nine years of age the gelding has dropped off the boil and has looked a shadow of his former self which has not been a good thing to see.

However, Yorkhill got off the mark for the first time since his win in the Grade 1 JLT Novices Chase at the Cheltenham festival and it gives him hope to find his form of old.

Goodwood's final day on the Saturday saw a great end to five superb days of racing and the Group 2 Lillie Langtry Stakes was one of the features on the day.

This race saw many classy individuals go to post but the winner was the John Gosden trained Enbihaar and what a performance it was with the filly cruising to victory.

For one of the first times in a long time, just before the off there were four runners joint at the top of the market at 7/2 which meant for a tight affair.

However, it was the opposite with the four year old coming from last to first in a matter of strides to easily take the 1 mile 6 furlong contest.

The final eye-catcher of the day was one of the gambles of the week at Goodwood, coming in the Saturday feature Stewards Cup and the Charles Hills trained Khaadem was superb.

The favourite was smashed in before the off from 9/1 to 4/1 and with the big field the race could have gone either way but Khaadem was seen as a Group horse in a handicap and that is what happened.

The Hamdan Al Maktoum owned colt was being waited patiently on by Jim Crowley, who landed a treble on the day, and then he snook up the inside rail to come home eased down.

Khaadem clocked the same speed as stablemate Battaash at 48mph at one point in the race which is truly frightening if he turns out to be anything like the fastest horse on the planet.